Chapter Text
What should I do?
•••
Otto leaned against one of the tables in the lab, careful not to knock any of the beakers over. There weren’t a lot of other agents around since it was almost time for everyone to go home, and the agents that left included his partner Olive.
That was exactly what he was hoping for.
“I just don’t get it,” Otto told Oscar. “Feelings are so confusing. Especially crushes...”
He was talking to Oscar about his feelings for Olive that started out as mutual respect to a crush that was maybe one-sided. Ever since he started at Odd Squad, he found out Oscar gave decent or good advice whenever he felt like it, and he was hoping he felt like giving advice that was closer to good. Even if it was no, at least Oscar was also a good listener.
“I get you,” Oscar said, pushing some beakers aside. “I had a crush once... Wait, never mind, I was just hungry and in need of something to do. But I still get you!”
Otto groaned. “What should I do? I know Olive doesn’t like me back, so there’s no point in my feelings!”
“There is,” Oscar assured. “It means you feel so safe and secure and happy around her that you’d like to be more than friends.”
“I know, I know...” Otto thought back to Olive and the times they spent together.
Since they were partners, they were basically always together at work until one day, Otto plucked up the courage to ask her to hang out with him outside of work. It wasn’t for a birthday party or anything, like the rare times they were together outside of work, but just because he wanted to hang out with her. He was so happy Olive said yes, and from that day on, the two spent more time together in and out of work. With each day, his feelings grew stronger and more confusing until he wanted to slam them into a jar and never take them out.
Unfortunately, Oscar didn’t have a slam-feelings-into-a-jar-innator.
“Can’t you just make me a special one-time-use gadget that makes me lose feelings for her?” Otto asked for what felt like the hundredth time. “An un-crush-innator?”
Oscar shook his head furiously. “I can’t do that. That’s not an odd.”
“Feelings are odd! They make no sense!”
“If you don’t try, they don’t.” He pulled out an orange and stuck a purple straw in it. “Here. I usually save these for Miss O when she’s juice-box-less, but you can have one! Just...don’t tell Miss O.”
Otto took it. It was hard to get any orange juice, but he managed.
“So you’re asking me for help. Okay!” Oscar clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “So, umm... Oh, hey, remember when you first came to Odd Squad?”
Otto nodded, still drinking his orange.
“Yeah, so remember how you first felt about Olive?”
Otto nodded again. He remembered his first week at Odd Squad clear as day.
***
The red ball Otto was in broke open, and he stood as tall and as proud as the smile on his face. He was finally in Odd Squad, after so long of trying to be an agent!
He nodded at a boy with light brown hair and glasses. The boy looked to be operating the tube system for now, even though he was dressed like a scientist.
“Hello!” the boy greeted with a quick wave. “I’m Oscar, and welcome to Odd Squad!”
Otto’s already wide smile got wider as he stepped down to shake Oscar’s hand. Feeling proud of his new title, he said, “Agent Otto.”
“Come on,” Oscar said. “I’ll introduce you to your new partner.”
Otto was nervous and excited to meet her. He wasn’t given any details about his new partner other than a few things, so she was still a mystery to him. After they met, hopefully they would get along.
Oscar stopped before reaching the main room. “Oh, and Otto... What do you know about your partner?”
Otto racked his brain for the few details he knew. “Ishe’s a girl. She worked here for a while time. She already had a partner, but I have no clue what happened to them or who they even are. Oh, and no one told me this, but I’m pretty sure her name starts with an O .”
Oscar nodded. “That’s... I don’t know if I should say good or bad. Anyway, if your partner’s acting weird...just ignore it.”
“Weird?” Wasn’t it Odd Squad? They dealt with things weird. Of course he wasn’t going to think of the girl weirdly!
Oscar nodded and they entered headquarters. Otto’s mouth hung open as he looked around to see agents walking around. Some were with creatures, some chasing after creatures, some carrying files, some carrying a bucket full of rainbows. He stepped aside for a boy riding in a small car, and already, Otto couldn’t have gotten even more excited.
Oscar looked around before nodding. “There she is.” He took off at a speed quicker than before, and Otto picked up the pace.
The girl was sitting alone at a desk, flipping through some already done paperwork. Her dark brown hair was in a ponytail, and her equally-dark eyes seemed to be somewhere else.
“Hey!” Oscar greeted. He had to repeat it five more times to bring the girl back to reality. She put the papers on the desk and stood up to face Otto.
Oscar nodded at both of them. “Agent Otto, meet your new partner, Agent Olive. Agent Olive, meet your new partner, Agent Otto.”
“Hello!” Otto stuck out his hand for a handshake. That was formal enough, right? The girl looked serious, and handshakes were really serious in his book.
“Hi.” Olive shook it back. He tried not to think about how her voice sounded like it had to put in effort to sound friendly.
Oscar lingered around before saying, “I’ll be going to the lab. It’s the green area with that beaker icon,” he added for Otto’s benefit.
Being left alone with his new partner, things got silent. She immediately resumed back to the papers as if he wasn’t there.
“Aren’t those already done?” he asked.
She hesitated. “They are. But I like to check my work. Ten times. Because I like ten,” she quickly added, darting her eyes around as if someone was watching her.
He was starting to see what Oscar meant by his partner acting weirdly.
A beat of silence was between them before she said, “I’m about the go on a case. A small one. But it’s your first day. So you should relax. I can do it by myself. But it’s fine if you come. I don’t mind. ...Do you want to come...?”
“Is that even a question? Obviously!” A case on his first day? Who cared if it was a small one? A case was a case!
. . .
“How was your first case?” Oscar asked when Otto got back. Olive went to her desk without a backwards glance at him, busying herself with whatever was on it.
Otto didn’t know what to say.
“Did you not know what to do?” Oscar asked. “It’s normal for new agents, so don’t worry.”
“I knew what to do,” he assured. “It’s just that Olive didn’t talk to me much.”
He was putting it lightly. She didn’t talk to him at all . He tried, but she pulled out the gadget they needed and solved it without his help.
“The guy we were helping was weird too,” Otto added. “Talked about Olive’s old partner. I mean, I know she worked here before I got here, but...”
When they got there, the man had said, “Olive, is this your new partner?”
Otto waited for her to introduce him, but once again, she looked like she was thinking of something else. He introduced himself, and the man replied, “You’re already better than her last partner.”
The man wouldn’t explain what he meant.
“Oh, wow, really?” Oscar scratched the back of his neck.
“Yeah.” Otto slowly nodded before being hit with a realization. “Oscar, you work here. Probably when Olive’s old partner was here. Who were they and what were they like?”
“Oh, uhh...” He looked around. “Sorry, phone call.” He picked up his badge and held it to his ear. “Hey, Miss O. Yeah... I’m on it. Okay, bye. Sorry, Otto, gotta go!”
“But your badge wasn’t even open!” Oscar was already dashing off to the safety of the lab.
Oh well. Maybe Olive would get more comfortable around him as the days went on. They just met, and Olive was probably missing her old partner, whoever they were. He would give her the patience and time she needed.
. . .
On Friday, Otto was in the lab while Oscar repaired his un-teddybear-innator after accidentally breaking it when someone’s child turned into a teddybear.
Oscar handed it back with a smile. “So how was your week?”
Otto struggled for words. “Okay, I guess.”
“Okay?” Oscar frowned. “Sorry for ruining your expectations. You looked pretty excited when you got here...”
“It’s not the place,” he assured. “It’s Olive. One of the things I was looking forward to was having a partner. Whenever I saw agents with partners, they always looked really close and I wanted to be close with my partner. Now I have a partner, but I’ve already been here for a week and I feel like I only know her name. It’s the only thing she told me about herself too!”
Oscar laughed. “I’m sure that’s not true! What’s her favourite colour?”
He frowned when Otto looked at him with dead eyes and didn’t answer. “Favourite food? Favourite animal? Favourite song? Favourite place? How about her favourite basketball team? Everyone knows that...!”
Oscar looked between Otto and his partner in the distance with horrified looks. “Does she even talk to you?”
Otto shrugged. “Only when it’s necessary. I’ve been trying to ignore how she acts like you said, but I don’t know how long I can last.”
Oscar moved behind a table. Otto followed him and stood on the opposite end, waiting for him to say something.
“So...how has Olive been to you?” he asked.
Otto frowned. “Cold. Distant. She always looks like she’s thinking of something else.”
Oscar looked away for a brief second before looking back at him. “You said she barely talks to you...”
“It’s only if she, like, needs a pencil. Or if I don’t get something and she has to explain it.”
“She explains it?” Oscar nodded with an impressed look on his face. “Anything else?”
“That’s it. Whenever I try to make small talk, she’ll give me short answers that’s basically her waving around a big flag” —he mimed waving a flag— “saying ‘I don’t want to talk to you, Otto!’”
“Does she answer you immediately?”
“Yeah, but it’s no good if she doesn’t answer back like it’s an actual conversation.”
“It actually is.” Oscar put his arms on the table and leaned against it. “Olive doesn’t answer anyone immediately after... Miss O is thinking about getting a huge speaker just for Olive since she sometimes doesn’t reply or even look at her even if she’s yelling right in her ear. I think she likes you and is starting to warm up.”
Otto’s eyes were wider then ever. “This is her warming up to me? I might as well be her enemy! We’re supposed to be partners ! I haven’t been an agent for long, but I know partners are supposed to like the other and get along well. Not treat them like they’re some useless pile of garbage!” He put his hands on the table and leaned forward. “I’m seriously considering to ask Miss O to switch partners with someone.”
Oscar gasped and looked around. “You can’t do that,” he whispered. “I-I’m sure you guys can get along and be best buds...!”
“I can’t if she won’t even get to know me or let me get to know her.”
Oscar seemed to switch back and forth between responses before settling on, “Tell you what? I have a plan—and no, it’s not mind blowing or anything. It’s a simple plan that should be easy...”
***
“What did I tell you to do?” Oscar asked.
“Talk to her,” Otto answered. “I ended up finding out she didn’t mean to act so distant and she had something important on her mind. She said the whole thing she was thinking about was pies and wouldn’t explain it—weird, huh?—but she tried to be more in the present and talk to me more. Now we’re best friends!”
“And one of you has a crush on the other. Anyway, my advice is basically the same now.” He sighed at Otto’s furrowed eyebrows. “Confess.”
Otto chocked on the orange juice. Oscar pat his back hard, and he got back soon.
“Confess?” Otto repeated. He shook his head when Oscar nodded. “I can’t do that! She doesn’t feel the same! She’ll say no! I’ll be embarrassed, I’ll ruin our friendship, I’ll—”
“It’s better than her not knowing at all. Trust me...” Oscar looked up at the sky, ready for a flashback.
But Otto didn’t want a flashback right now. “So what, I just walk up to her” —he put his hands in his pockets and tried to walk in a “cool” way to Oscar— “and go, ‘Hey, Olive, I know we’ve been friends for a while now, but I have a crush on you’?”
Oscar grinned and nodded enthusiastically. “Exactly like that!”
“No! Olive’s serious and smart and cool and talented and beautiful and the best agent Odd Squad has and I’m me! She won’t ever like me!”
“You won’t know unless you try!”
“And if I try, I embarrass myself in front of her and make her feel uncomfortable! I can’t do that!”
“Well, suit yourself! I try to help and this is what I get!” Oscar threw his hands up and stormed away. He came back to add, “If you change your mind, I’ll be in the lab for the entire day tomorrow so come find me, same time as today. We’ll practice your confession on my crushbot—don’t ask—and I’ll also do some investigating to see if there’s a chance she likes you.” He stormed off again.
Otto groaned and sat down. He leaned his head against the wall and thought about how close he and Olive had gotten. He couldn’t ruin that because of his feelings!
Olive...was Olive. If she had romantic feelings for anyone, it wouldn’t be her partner that she had to explain almost everything to, made a lot of jokes, and could be too laid-back for his own good. She would have someone who was more like her in mind, and she would be the happiest she had ever been.
He slapped his forehead, trying to get the mental image of Olive with someone that wasn’t him out of his mind. She looked happy, but seeing someone that else making her that happy made him so much angrier than he would tell anyone, even Oscar.
Maybe he should ask again for an un-crush-innator.